1. Field of the Invention
Generally the invention relates to devices to rinse a hull of a boat when positioned on a boat lift during a removal of the boat from a body of water. More specifically the invention relates to such rinsing utilizing fresh water to remove the water of the body of water, and other materials, from the boat hull to prevent accumulation of undesirable materials on the hull of the boat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is understood that hulls of boats will benefit from being cleaned of contamination from exposure to water of a body of water subsequent to removal from the body of water. Such cleaning will enhance and prolong the life cycle of the boat hull by preventing deterioration associated with leaving the contamination thereon. The term contamination as used herein refers to a very wide spectrum of materials, both organic and inorganic. Contamination may involve living matter which may attach itself to surfaces of the boat hull. Contamination may involve naturally occurring elements as well as man made, or refined, elements which may attach to the surfaces of the boat hull.
Leaving a boat in water for extended periods of time has detrimental effects upon the boat. Fowling of the hull may occur in both fresh water and salt water. The area of the hull at and just above the hull water line is particularly susceptible to fowling. The portion of the hull below the hull water line is also susceptible to fowling due to the inaccessible nature of this area for cleaning while the boat is in the water.
When contamination from the body of water, either from a fresh water body of water or from a salt water body of water, is permitted to remain on the hull of the boat following removal from the body of water the hull can suffer unnecessary deterioration over time.
Numerous methods exist to wash boat hulls once elevated and removed from a body of water. The most common method involves a person manually manipulating a hose to disperse fresh water for rinsing the various surfaces while walking around to gain access to the various areas of the hull of the boat. This is only practical if the person is able to completely move around the boat lift to gain access to both sides of the boat hull. Many boat lifts, particularly in residential setting, are only accessible on one side of the boat lift. Therefore, in these circumstances a less than desirable outcome is obtainable utilizing the manual manipulation rinsing method. Of course some boat lifts are accessible on both sides, such as having surrounding decking of a dock.
Many people who have a boat lift and a corresponding boat routinely keep their boat on the boat lift and raised out of the body of water when not actively using the boat for boating activities. Often the owner will not even leave their boat in the water overnight when not in use. It is common for such a boat to be used repetitively over a span of several days with the boat being placed on the boat lift and elevated above the body of water during inactive periods, such as overnight.
The removal from the body of water following each use of the boat provides an excellent opportunity to clean the hull of the boat. Unfortunately, many boaters fail to take advantage of these opportunities, at least not each and every time. This failure results in contamination being left on the hull of the boat. When the contamination is permitted to dry and harden on the hull adverse effects begin and subsequent washing often will fail to completely remove such accumulation.
Various devices have been proposed which wash the hulls of boats while the boat remains in the water. This class of devices, while interesting as they relate to the harm which may be experienced by boat hulls from accumulation of contaminating materials thereon, are not applicable to the present invention. Typically devices in this class of inventions rely upon rotating brushes to clean the hull of the boat under treatment while moving along and under the boat while the boat remains in the water.
Various devices have been proposed which wash the hulls of boats subsequent to complete removal of the boat from a body of water. Many of these devices manipulate brushes, or other objects, in combinations with an introduction of water to clean the portion of the boat hull under treatment. It has been proposed to utilize water dispersing discharges, typically in a form and velocity commonly referred to as ‘pressure cleaning’, which act alone to provide the desired cleaning of the boat hull. Typically the water dispersing discharge location(s) are mechanically moved about relative to the stationary boat hull. Often devices in this class are utilized during a transfer procedure and positioned on a piece of equipment between the body of water and a fixed storage location, such as in a multiple boat storage rack at a marina.
The most common variety of boat lifts which will benefit from the present invention are those which slowly transfer the boat back and forth between the elevated storage position and the lowered launch/retrieve position. While wide variation between models exist, typically such transfers are on the order of five (5) to ten (10) minutes for each lowering operation and each raising operation. Many configurations of boat lifts exist which may function with the present invention. A common type is a straddling type which has at least four (4) stationary corner posts with the boat cradle positioned therebetween and engaged by at least four (4) vertically oriented elevation manipulation members. Typically, these vertically oriented elevation manipulation members are mere cables which are secured to the boat cradle at one end and to the fixed portion of the boat lift for displacement, most commonly via a winding process, at the opposing end. Another common type is a single side rail type boat lift which has the boat cradle extending outward therefrom generally parallel to the surface of the water. Often the fixed rail portion will be angularly offset relative to perpendicular to the surface of the water. These types of boat lifts will often be installed in the absence of decking, at least on the far side of the boat lift from the shore. These types of boat lifts are typically deployed with smaller lighter boats. These types of boat lifts present unique challenges for the boater who wishes to rinse down the boat hull following use. This challenge is primarily related to the lack of ready access to the offshore side of the boat lift. Another method of lifting a boat out of the water is by a pair of davits mounted on the shore using cables attached to the bow and stern of the boat. This also leaves the offshore side of the boat unavailable for cleaning. The present invention can be easily adapted to these lifts via posts or pilings mounted in the body of water on the side of the hull away from the landside. A plurality of fresh water discharges can then be attached to the pilings with water supplied from landside together with a plurality of fresh water discharges on the landside.
The present invention is primarily intended to be deployed with a dedicated boat lift which is conventionally utilized to store, in an elevated dry condition, a single boat and to launch and retrieve that boat from a body of water. Various devices have been proposed to wash the boat hull, and incidentally the boat cradle of the boat lift, subsequent to full elevation of the boat lift to a storage position. These devices universally utilized mechanically features which move about at least horizontally during performance of the cleaning procedure, such as moving rotating brushes from stem to stern while dispensing water. These devices are extremely complicated in design, expensive to install and maintain and time consuming to operate. Many users do not like to leave their boating equipment unattended during operation of such mechanical devices. This includes during operation of the boat lift and during operation of the hull cleaning machinery. Therefore, when operating the known boat hull cleaning devices which operate only on fully elevated and stationary boats the user will stay during the raising of the boat from the landing position to the elevated storage position and during operation of the boat hull cleaning device. Wide variations in operating time exist, depending upon design, for operation of these conventional boat hull cleaning devices. An example of time of operation for such devices is five (5) to ten (10) minutes. Therefore, a complete conventional ‘from initial landing orientation to proper elevated and washed storage orientation’ for a boat will consume the time for the raising operation of the boat lift, typically five (5) to ten (10) minutes, and the time for the washing operation, commenced only when the raising operation is fully complete, typically another five (5) to ten (10) minutes. In the instances when a boat is only being removed for a brief period of time, such as overnight, the user will often forego the cleaning operation which leaves contaminates thereon which then have an opportunity to dry and harden on the boat hull of the boat.
An excellent example of the state of the art in boat hull cleaning is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,101 issued to Leonard Koch. This reference teaches positioning of water piping, having a multiplicity of holes directed generally upward, in fixed attachment on the boat cradle below the contact points between the boat cradle and the hull of the boat positioned thereon. The water piping is then lowered into the body of water each time the boat cradle is lowered into the body of water. Fresh pressurized rinsing water is then discharged through the water piping and the multiplicity of holes to spray upward onto the boat hull to rinse the boat hull, after the water piping has been elevated above the surface of the body of water. This patent is primarily adapted to pontoon boats and other doubled hulled vessels and require an elaborate design of pipes unique to a particular type boat. These spray pipes are then attached to that part of the lift where the boat sets as it is raised and lowered to and from the body of water. The fresh pressure water is supplied via flexible hoses.
Various deficiencies exist with each of the proposed methods of maintaining the hulls of boats in a generally clean generally contamination free state while elevated above a body of water in a storage orientation on a boat lift. These attempts have been less efficient than desired. As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a simple method of rinsing a hull of a boat during a raising of the boat out of a body of water utilizing a boat lift where the rinsing removes as much contaminating material as possible from the boat hull during the time of the actual raising of the boat. The present invention substantially fulfills these needs.